


a history lesson

by The_Eclectic_Bookworm



Series: lucky you’re the one i love [8]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: F/M, also jenny and dru are besties because Why Not???? Why Not, hints of ripper/spike bc that's the way this au rolls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-09
Updated: 2019-05-09
Packaged: 2020-02-28 20:19:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18763474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Eclectic_Bookworm/pseuds/The_Eclectic_Bookworm
Summary: Spike and Ripper were very busy throwing drinks in each other’s faces, so Jenny weaved through the crowd to the booth where she knew Drusilla was sitting.





	a history lesson

**Author's Note:**

  * For [JackalopingIntoTheVoid](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JackalopingIntoTheVoid/gifts).



> jack said i could keep gifting her these fics so You Better Believe That's What I'm Gonna Do. literally this entire au would not even exist without her so it feels more than apropos.
> 
> this piece is probably best read after reading arch-nemeses (and eventually i really AM gonna have to write a fic detailing spike and dru's entry into this au), but i think it might still work on its own. maybe. the spike/ripper dynamic is A Lot, as always.

Spike and Ripper were very busy throwing drinks in each other’s faces, so Jenny weaved through the crowd to the booth where she knew Drusilla was sitting. Without preamble, she threw her bag down on the empty side, then sat down herself, leaning across the table to take Dru’s hands in hers. “How’s my favorite terrifying murder babe?” she asked cheerfully.

“Luxuriously relaxed,” said Dru, looking up at Jenny through her lashes. “And you?”

“Totally failing history,” said Jenny. “Ripper’s trying to tutor me, but I guess I just don’t have the patience for it. I live more in the _now,_ you know?”

“Clearly,” said Dru. “Any well-read little birdy would be scared of me.”

“Should I be?”

Dru seemed to seriously consider the question. “No, I don’t think so,” she said. “I like you. You’re very human-y and I like talking to you. I _would_ turn you, I like you that much—only I think your heart’s darling would take offense, and kill me. And then I wouldn’t be able to talk to you at _all,_ which would be—”

“My _heart’s darling?”_ said Jenny.

Dru directed a significant look towards Spike and Ripper. Ripper had shoved Spike up against the bar, their foreheads touching. Angrily.

“You think I have a thing for your boyfriend?” said Jenny, determined to play dumb. “No way. That totally goes against the bro code, and you and I are _totally_ bros.”

“You’re a very smart little birdy in your own way,” said Drusilla, leveling Jenny with one of those Looks she got. Sometimes, there were moments when she really did hold centuries of wisdom in her eyes, and it always left Jenny feeling a little unmoored. “I think you know _absolutely_ what I mean.”

“I don’t,” said Jenny. She did.

Dru tugged Jenny’s hands across the table, turning one of Jenny’s wrists over to press a kiss to her pulse point. She vamped out, closed lips against Jenny’s heartbeat.

Almost as if he had a sixth sense for it, Ripper _whirled,_ dropping Spike to the ground and sprinting across the Bronze without so much as a backwards glance. “DRU, IF YOU FUCKING TRY ANYTHING—” he yelled, then came to a skidding, sheepish stop in front of the table as Drusilla pointedly set down Jenny’s hand, no longer in game face. “Oh,” he said, running a hand through his hair. He was now blushing. “Right. Sorry. Um.”

“ _Drusilla!”_ said Jenny, _mortified._

Belatedly, Spike sprinted up, all but tumbling into Ripper in his effort to yank him back from the table. “THE TRUCE IS OFF IF DRUSILLA GETS HURT, RIPPER—” he shouted, then realized that nothing, in fact, had actually happened. “Huh,” he said. “Never mind, then, mate. We’re good.”

 _“Really,_ Spike, no need to fuss!” said Dru. “I was just making a point to darling little Janna.” She tilted her head towards Ripper, looking _extremely_ smug. “You know I’d never bite your _dearest_ love, Rupert.”

Ripper looked at Dru, cheeks heated. He then turned around, grabbed Spike by the collar, and hauled him back over to the bar to punch him in the face. _“OW!”_ Spike howled. “What the bloody hell was _that_ for—”

“Your souls do seem to cry out for each other,” Dru said thoughtfully, turning her attention back to Jenny. “And do you know, I believe you’re the last thing he thinks of before he sleeps? What a curiously musical little boy—all his love for you ringing clear as a bell through his songs.”

“Drusilla,” said Jenny, “can you _please_ just help me with my history homework?”

Drusilla looked one more time between Jenny and Ripper, head cocked thoughtfully. “You did ask who your heart’s darling was,” she said. “I thought it only fair to provide you with an answer.”

Jenny shoved the binder across the table.

“I do suppose history is important,” said Drusilla, looking down at the binder without really seeming to see it. “Knowing where we’ve been, knowing where we _are—_ that’s what helps us understand where we’re going.” She squeezed Jenny’s hands. “You are such a dear little girl,” she said. “Try not to waste too much time pretending not to know your own heart.”


End file.
